


A Tail Or Two

by LuxDeorum



Category: Original Work
Genre: Death, M/M, but be warned!, he's creepy and an asshole, just a nameless side character, lev n fax, mermaid au, not major character death, warning for remi too tbqh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-02-04 14:57:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 19,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18606841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuxDeorum/pseuds/LuxDeorum
Summary: A mermaid au! The full thing is on tumblr, but I'll be slowly adding it to Ao3 as well, mostly so I can read it myself in order with less hassle. I'll be updating every Friday. There are a total of 27 parts.





	1. Chapter 1

Levant woke to the sound of the waves, to the feel of wet sand beneath him, and the heat of the sun beating down on him from above. For a long moment he just lay there, wishing he didn’t feel so parched.

The storm the night before had been vicious, and Lev had been foolish to stray so close to the surface and the shore. He hadn’t expected to get tumbled ashore, and really, he had no one to blame but himself. He shuddered to think what his grandmother would say when he got back. The scolding was not something he was looking forward to.

Whatever water there was in the dip of sand where he’d ended up was quickly evaporating now that the sun was high in the sky, and once it was gone he would have only so long before he started drying out for real. He blinked his eyes open, but even that took enough energy that he simply curled tighter, and stopped thinking at all.

Footsteps roused him partially, enough that he twitched and tried to push himself up. He didn't really do much more than dig his fingers in the sand, but it was the trying that was important. Right? He might not have had the energy to move, but his heart went into overdrive anyway. Every mer knew that humans were, in general bad news. For a wild moment, Lev was convinced he was about to die, not from the harsh sun baking him to a crisp before he could crawl back into the cradle of the ocean, but from the cruelty of humanity. 

Footsteps approach, not a foot away, and then something draped over him. It at least covered his head and torso, but at this point any relief was worth it. He gave a soft sigh, relaxing somewhat, and tried to tell himself everything would be okay. It was. He was fine. 

Whoever it was had retreated, but they returned, and without warning water splashed on his tail. He twitched and gave a little gasp. Whoever it was hushed him, and the footsteps again retreated, only to return with more water. It slithered further up his tail, pooling beneath his hip, around his ribs, before starting to soak into the sand. He wiggled, as if he could follow it into the sand, despite how the sand made his scales itch.

Again he was hushed, as if the human thought to soothe him. And, again, more water was dumped on him, over and over, until he was more awake, until he no longer felt like he might blow away into the sand, and hesitantly pushed the cloth from over his head. His arms still shook, and he ached all over, but he was sitting up, sort of, cloth pooled at his waist as he stared up at his savior. Or, at the very least, the human who hadn’t tried to kill him immediately.

The human was a broad shouldered man, who was probably almost as tall as Lev was long, and his blonde hair was cropped short. The man crouched, bright blue eyes pinning Lev in place so surely Lev flinched back. “Let’s get a good look at what we’ve found here,” the man murmured. He snagged Lev’s chin when he leaned away, holding him still. “Not a bad specimen.”

The man’s fingers were gentle, but his tone, while also even and likely meant to be soothing, sent a shiver down Lev’s spine. This time he let Lev duck away. The moment he moved away, Lev started to crawl towards the sea. Not having any of that, the man stepped in his way, tutting. 

“I can’t have you slithering off so soon. However would I be sure you’re alright?” He said lightly. 

Lev shrank away, flicking his gaze between the sea and this human almost desperately. “Please,” he tried without much hope.

“I’m here to help,” the man promised, looking up the beach, where more humans were gathering, carrying what looked like another piece of cloth stretched between two poles between them. “This will be as difficult as you make it for me,” he added, an edge finally creeping into his tone. 

Lev lowered his gaze, sinking back onto the sand. Maybe it would have been better if he’d just died on that beach, Lev reflected, but really, what else was he to do?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I said every Friday, but the first part was SO short ;-;  
> also I might just do it twice a week

Lev was, to his surprise, was still alive at the end of the day. He wasn’t sure if being in what was basically a giant fish tank was any better, but at least it was filled with water. Lev stayed close to the bottom, feeling horribly exposed, and wishing there was something to hide behind. At least he didn't need to come up for air. He slid further down, trying to tuck his tail closer. He kept his head low, not wanting to see the people walking past. There was nothing else really to do.

For a few days nothing happened; he was kept fed. Live fish, more than once a day. And, eventually, they started asking things of him. He would have called it demanding, but as long as he agreed to whatever they ‘asked’ no one got angry. Most of the time it wasn't difficult. They wanted to know how long he was, how big his fins were, where his gills were. He got nervous when their hands got near, especially near his face, but they backed off somewhat when they noticed how sharp his teeth got. 

Michael, the blonde man who had originally found him, wasn't around for the first several weeks. Lev wasn't sure how to feel about that at all. On one hand, Michael was the first human he'd had contact with. Terrifying or not, he'd been very gentle. On the other hand, he was the one that kept Lev from fleeing into the waves, and he was the one who clearly arranged all of this.

The day Michael showed up things began to change. He'd taken one look at Lev, and had him moved to a bigger tank. It was a relief, but Lev was still worried. Always worried. Still, he did what he could to keep them happy. He swam when the told him to swim, he came when they called him over, though he never spoke, and when they threw a man into the tank with him, he refused to go anywhere near the man, much less harm him when they asked. Instead he curled up on the far side, watching him shiver and wishing he dared to something to help.

They left the man in there for a full day, until all he did was hold onto the side of the tank to keep afloat. In the end Lev swallowed his own fear and made his way to the man’s side and slid his arms under him to support him. This close he could tell the man was likely just as scared as Lev was, if not more. The man was heavy, and Lev had never been a very strong mer, but he didn’t want to let him slide under the surface.

Eventually Michael himself came to retrieve the man. Lev handed him off, before sinking up to his eyes in the water. His relief was short lived. Before he could even blink Michael slit the man’s throat and dropped the body back into the water. Lev gave a small shriek and darted to the other side of the tank, as if he could escape the cloud of red slowly spilling across the water. 

He was left in the bloody water longer than he would have liked, but eventually he was dumped back in the first tank. Staying still turned out to be impossible, so he ended up circling the bottom of the tank, trying and failing to calm down. Was there no right answer, then? Either he could have killed the man right away, or let him suffer for hours until they killed him themselves. Neither was a decision he liked.

A soft thump on the glass of the tank caught his attention. He pushed off from the bottom and popped up warily. Michael watched him until he started to squirm, and then gestured for him to come closer. Lev’s hesitation only irritated the man; when Lev was close enough he reached out, and gave a soft frown as Lev flinched back. It took all of Lev’s courage to let Michael twist his face this way and that, to let Michael keep him stretched awkwardly until Michael seemed satisfied with what he saw.

Released, Lev sank down until he was mostly submerged, though he didn’t retreat fully. Safer, to know what Michael wanted. But all Michael said was, “So you’re useless to me,” and walked away. Only then did Lev settle back down on the bottom of the tank. Down here no one could tell he was crying. 

He was moved back to the big tank once it was clean. They tried several times, to get Lev to kill something thrown in the water with him, but the only thing he killed was the fish they fed him, and sometimes not even then, if he wasn’t hungry. He lost track of the days, doing his best to sleep through most of them, or swimming in circles and trying not to think of his family left behind.

A day came when he was basically bundled into a kiddie pool in the back of a truck. There was no explanation. No one spoke to him. He saw Michael from a distance, but was never approached, and then he was left in the dark of the truck, praying that he wasn’t finally being shipped off to his death. The water in the pool was barely enough, certainly not enough to submerge himself in, but he suspected that was more to prevent it from spilling than to inconvenience Lev in any way. He curled awkwardly, translucent gray fin tapping softly as he tried to stay calm. He missed the ocean, and he wished he’d tried harder to get back home. Fear had stopped him, as it tended to do, and now he had no idea what his future held, except more fear. 

He stifled a terrified little croon, and curled tighter. At this rate he only lifted his head when the door to the truck slid up, and didn't fuss when He was bundled up in a large cloth he couldn’t see out of and toted away. He had fully resigned himself to death when he was tumbled out and into water. Too shocked to do anything else, he sank to the bottom, startled and delighted to find this... pool? Was well over twice as deep as he was long, and wide enough he could do laps longer than one tail flick without running into a wall. He eventually surfaced to find Michael watching him, expression unreadable. Lev stilled, concerned. 

Michael said nothing, and eventually turned away. Lev waited until he was gone for good before he went back to his exploring. The bottom of the pool was slightly rough, sloping deeper on the far side, deepest out from under the roof, and the other side, both under the roof and in the open was shallow, a very gentle slope that was easy to hoist himself on if he felt like it.  The true incline didn’t begin for about half a tail-length, and then it began with a vengeance. There was even a platform in the middle of the whole thing that appeared to be for Lev to heave himself upon if he felt so inclined.

Lev swam around the pool twice more before settling at the deepest part to try and sleep. All excitement about more room aside, there really wasn’t anything else to do here, so he might as well. At least until Michael found something to demand of him.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing happened. For weeks, nothing happened, other than the fact that Lev slowly became nocturnal. It was, possibly, the most anticlimactic anxiety attack Lev had ever had. The low thrum of anxiety had settled in his stomach, and it wouldn’t go away. Something had to go wrong eventually. He couldn’t stand waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. 

Eventually, something  _ did  _ happen, but Lev, upon reflection, would never call it bad. During one of his nightly swims, looping around and around as quietly as he could, he looked up to see a stranger watching him. It was the middle of the night; he should have had peace to be restless in peace, but instead he found himself meeting a familiar electric gaze in an unfamiliar face. He was tall, and broad, and there were enough piercings and tattoos that Lev froze. He stared, perhaps a moment too long, before vanishing underwater with a powerful flick of his tail. He stayed deep, until the sun rose, and he dozed off.

The next night was the same. Lev turned around at some point and the man was just there, concern on his face. Lev ducked away again, heart pounding and stomach twisting. There was no demand for him surface, and when he popped back up later, the man was gone. Lev eventually sank back down again, unsure of what else to do. 

They repeated this twice more before Lev dared to stay surfaced. He almost ducked away again when the man took a cautious step towards to pool. All the man did was settle on the edge of the pool. Lev, after a full minute, went back to his laps. In the end the man left as dawn approached. And he was back the next night, in the wee hours. And the next. And the next. Never asking anything of Lev, not even speaking. He seemed to be waiting. Only once Lev was comfortable enough to do a full lap instead of sticking to the outside wall did he say anything at all.

“I’m Silas.”

Lev startled so hard that he ducked under for a heartbeat. When he popped back up, he had no idea if he was supposed to say anything. Silas was stretched out on his back, watching the ceiling. His fingers trailed in the water absently. 

“Levant.”

Silas twisted his head, blinking. “Levant?”

“Lev. My name is Lev.” He sank deeper in the water. 

“Lev. A good name,” Silas murmured. He cracked a grin. “Snappy.”

Lev wasn't sure what to say to that. He flicked his tail and looked away. And that was the end of their conversation that night. It wasn't until the next night that Silas asked him what he was doing there.

“I don't know,” Lev admitted softly. He ducked under, just to soothe himself, and then popped up. “I-I don't know.”

“How’d you get here, then? I really don't think you were born in a pool like this. Breeding mers in captivity would be big news if it were real. Not that I think it'd be okay if it was. That'd be fucked up,” he added quickly, rolling onto his side. “But...”

“I was born a long way from here. In the ocean. I...” Lev rubbed his nose. “I just got caught up in a storm. I got tossed up on the shore.”  He ducked under again, briefly. When he popped up again, he added softly, “Michael found me before...”

“Before?” Silas asked, tilting his head, his dark hair falling into his face. 

Lev licked his lips, before giving his head a shake. “Before I baked to a crisp.” Before he could go home, but then again, Lev should have steeled himself and moved before anyone found him.

“Well. That would have been bad.” Silas flicked water at Lev without warning, catching him in the face. “I think I like you unbaked.”

Lev gave a startled laugh, voice soft. “I think I like me unbaked too,” he admitted, settling his arms on the side of the pool hesitantly. He ducked his chin. “I miss the ocean.” 

Just like that, he shut down, stomach twisting itself again. He pushed off, circling around the pool once. Silas watched him without saying anything. In the end, that effectively killed off their second conversation. 


	4. Chapter 4

Silas flicked a handful of water at Lev. A week had passed, and the past three nights he’d sat up to his waist in the pool, right on the beginning of the slope down into the deeper parts. Lev still didn’t talk much, but he sat next to Silas, even when he pulled shit like that. 

He ruffled his hair, shaking the excess water from it. “I have an entire pool if I want to get even more wet, Silas.”

“You’re part fish, don’t you need water?” Silas blinked innocently. He laughed when Lev flicked water right back. 

Lev let his tail lift and drop down again. “Everyone needs water.”

“Yeah, and some need more than others,” Silas said, and then ducked Lev’s next attempt to splash him. “Am I wrong?”

“In theory, no,” Lev huffed. 

Silas barked out a laugh. “Oh, in theory, huh? What about in practice, hmm?” He leaned close, eyes twinkling and a playful grin lurking. 

Lev ducked away, shaking his head. Silas was ridiculous, and sometimes when he got so close Lev found himself blushing. That was ridiculous too, but Lev didn’t know how to control it, especially when Silas snagged his hand. 

“Hey, you zoned out on me there, bud.” Silas grinned. “Whatcha thinking  about, yeah?” When Lev gave another shake of his head, Silas nudged him with his shoulder. “What do I have to do to keep your attention? Hm? Am I that boring?”

“No,” Lev admitted, looking up. Oh. Silas was... right there. Not even an inch away, grin teasing, fingers intertwined with his. Lev wasn’t sure if he wanted to lean back, or lean closer. He thought about both options, but ended up holding still, hardly daring to breathe, waiting for Silas to make the decision for him.

“What exactly is going on here?”

Apparently they wouldn’t get to make a choice. Silas jerked away, twisting to find Michael standing there. “Dad!”

Lev leaned back, doing his best to shrink into himself. Dad? Somehow Lev hadn’t made the connection. Hadn’t wanted to, he supposed now, but that didn’t make it any easier to come to terms with. Lev watched Silas stand, stepping out of the pool. He didn’t even want to listen to them, wanted to slip away into the water until Michael was gone. The look Michael was giving him when he wasn’t watching Silas splutter out nonsense made him wish he could turn invisible. 

“I didn’t think you were stupid enough climb right in with it,” Michael said, cutting off whatever Silas was trying to say. “I really didn’t think I’d have to spell it out that you aren’t supposed to go near the dangerous sea creature.”

“Dangerous, Dad, really? Levant is scared of his own shadow. Christ-”

“You gave it a name?” Michael arched an eyebrow.

Silas tossed his hands in the air. “ _ He _ already  _ had  _ a name. All I had to do was ask him to find out. Not that fucking hard.” 

Michael looked between them. “How long has this been going on?” He asked, holding up a hand to stop Silas from answering. There was a challenge to his expression, a dare Lev wasn’t sure he wanted to meet. 

“A couple weeks at the most,” Lev finally said faintly.

Michael’s expression didn’t change. “So you do speak.” He stepped forward, once, and then knelt on the edge of the pool.

“Dad-”

“Silas.” The sharp edge to Michael's tone made Lev flinch back, but the motion caught Michael’s attention again. He flicked his fingers in an imperious demand. Lev didn’t dare disobey, and dragged himself over, wishing he was in deeper water so he didn’t feel so awkward. Michael grabbed his chin, firm enough Lev didn’t dare pull away from him. “What other surprises do you hold?”

Lev finally closed his eyes, trying to hold still. He hated the feeling of Michael’s fingers on his jaw, hated how close he was. He wasn’t sure what Michael wanted from him, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to give whatever Michael was about to ask for.

But Michael’s touch vanished, and when Lev blinked his eyes open, Michael was facing Silas again. “Would telling you to stay away from it do me any good?”

“Not fucking really. He’s better at civilized conversation than you are.” Silas set his jaw stubbornly.

Michael flicked a glance between them once more. “Just don’t sleep with the thing. God knows what kind of bullshit you’re into, but I have to have some lines drawn.” And then he was walking away.

“Fucking Christ, Dad, don’t be crude,” Silas called after him. He twisted back to Lev, crouching down to his level.  “I’m sorry. He’s more than a dick. Are you okay?”

Lev gave a small nod. “Yeah.” He tried very hard not to flinch when touched his cheek. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m fine,” Lev promised, and tried to sound like he meant it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just some cute pool shenanigans

“Let me know if this is insensitive or something, I don't know, but you have pitifully few things to do in here, so I brought you these.” Silas sprawled on the edge of the pool, but only after dumping many plastic torpedoes onto the ground. 

Lev frowned, folding his arms on the side of the pool. “You okay? I heard you and... I heard the argument after you left.” He rested his cheek on his folded arms rather than meet Silas’ gaze. He really didn’t need to pry, but...

Silas gave a dry little laugh, and snagged one of the torpedos to fiddle with. “Yeah. Fine. Dad’s just worried you’re going to drag me into the deep and let me drown. He laid down a new rule he forgot to think of in front of you: no getting into the water.”

“Let you drown?” Lev asked, sneaking a glance at Silas. The man’s face was pulled tight as he flipped the plastic toy over and over. 

“Yeah. At least he recognizes it wouldn’t be an active murder. God. I can’t swim, by the way. That’s what he has his panties in a twist about. Never fucking bothered to find someone to teach me, but when I pointed /that out he just said he’d spent too much time trying to get me to learn how to read and sit still and pay attention to have time to find someone to teach me how to swim, and now I’m old enough to find my own lessons if I’m so worried about it.” Silas puffed out a breath, sending loose hairs fluttering. “Can you? Read, not swim. I can tell you can swim. I should hope you can swim.”

Lev pursed his lips, and reached over to put his hand over Silas’, which was tapping the torpedo quickly against the side of the pool. “I can read. Both in English, and in the mers language. At least, the language for the ocean I’m from. My grandmother wanted me prepared. Or maybe she thought I was bored. I don’t know.”

Silas grinned a little. “Practically a speech from you. I’m proud. Reading’s hard. For me at least. Letters and words moving. It’s bullshit. The fact that it had to happen to me,” he added quickly. “Not that Dad believes its that bad. But it pisses me off, and even though I’ve gotten a lot better, I generally avoid heavy reading when I can.” He paused, thinking. “I like audio books though. Still get the stories even if it’s cheating.”

Lev couldn’t figure out how on earth that was cheating, but he didn’t know how to encourage Silas, so he gave a comforting croon instead, and folded his arms again. Silas gave a small smile and ruffled Lev’s hair. 

“Anyway, rambling aside, these are for you.” He waved the torpedo. “Look, they light up.” He smacked the side of the pool with the toy, harder than Lev thought safe, and indeed they did light up. “Um, basically you toss them in and then scoop them up off the pool floor. And it seemed like a cooler idea inside my head. Sorry.”

“No, it’s... sweet.” Lev tilted his head, watching the lights in the little toy. “So you just...”

“I figured we could make a game of it. Like, I don’t know, see if you can catch them all before they hit the bottom? Or- I don’t know, it’s dumb, forget it.”

“No,” Lev protested. “It sounds fun.” He pushed off, backing up. “Try?”

Silas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure.” He chucked the torpedo in the water. Lev watched it sink, waiting til the last moment to dive.

He tossed it back to Silas. “Make it harder,” he challenged, half ducking under the water, and splashing water at Silas to add to his shy demand.

Silas arched a single pierced brow, and then scooped up a few more, smacking them all to light them up, and then tossing them in several different directions. Lev, again, waited, winking once before disappearing beneath the surface. When he popped back up, his face felt hot. He dropped the torpedos on the ledge, and gave a small smile. 

“God, now I feel like I’m playing fetch,” Silas groaned. 

Lev considered that, and then, when Silas seemed ready to stretch out and go back to staring at the ceiling, gave a rather convincing bark. Silas jerked, blinking, before he burst into laughter. “At least you have a good sense of humor.” 

Lev felt his cheeks go warm again. He wasn’t sure what to say, so in the end he shrugged, and said, “Throw them again. Make it more challenging.”

Silas cracked a grin, and obliged. 


	6. Chapter 6

Silas stuck to the whole ‘no getting in the water’ thing right up until Michael left for another business thing, due to be gone for several weeks. The very night Michael left Silas was plopped right back down on the little ledge, submerged to his waist. Lev could feel the tension ease out of Silas’ nightly visits the longer Michael was away. They kept up their game of fetch most nights, though the night Silas brought little toy boats and let them float around, with Lev guiding them across the pool with little flicks of his tail and well timed splashes was a surprising treat.

Silas also took to leaving books on the edge of the pool, on the nights he couldn’t come. Sometimes he was tired, but more and more often he also pled to a growing ache in his back from spending so much time laying on the concrete beside the pool. He did his best to keep Lev happy even when he wasn’t there, though. When Lev hesitantly mentioned he was afraid of getting the books too wet, with nothing to dry his hands on, a disproportionately large pile of towels appeared the next night alongside the newest book. 

Sometimes Lev settled beside Silas, and read to him. This tended to happen when he couldn’t finish a book in a night, or the one time Silas mentioned offhand that the book he’d lent Lev was one of his favorites. Lev didn't mind. As long as Silas enjoyed himself, Lev just wanted the company he provided. 

And then, rarest of all, were the nights when Lev didn’t feel like reading, and Silas didn’t show. He didn’t know why he never told Silas about those nights. Maybe he didn’t want Silas to see him making a fool of himself. Because, on the nights he was alone, he heaved himself out of the pool and started to dry off.

It was not a well known fact that, when done safely, a mer removed from water grew legs. Or something. Lev had never liked that particular phrase, but he wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to call taking on a human form. 

Well, whatever it was called, he kept it to himself. He was far from steady on his feet in the beginning, and then he just didn’t know how to bring it up. Somehow Lev didn’t think saying, “By the way I wander the lower part of your house the nights you don’t come visit me, even though you’re under the impression I’m trapped in that pool.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Silas, but he did worry that revealing this would change the way Silas looked at him. It wasn’t that Lev was any less helpless for having more mobility, but he knew it might seem that way.

Still, he really should have expected to be found out eventually, and it was his own fault for falling asleep in a nest of towels. He woke to find the book he’d been reading clutched to his chest, and Silas sitting beside him. He blinked slowly, and pushed himself up. 

“Hey,” he said, when Silas remained silent. He tried again when the quiet stretched, “I was going to tell you.” 

Silas looked away. “Do I scare you?”

“What?” Lev asked, startled by the change in subject.

“Christ, Lev, do I scare you? I want you to trust me, and... God, you look like you expect me to hit you or something.” He rubbed the side of his face. “I’m not my father. I’d never hurt you, you know that right?”

Lev hadn’t expected this sort of concern. “I know you wouldn’t,” he promised, but Silas wouldn’t look at him now. More than once Lev opened his mouth to try to reassure Silas, only to find he had no more words. In the end he slid out of his little nest and settled on Silas’ lap so he could reach Silas’ face and turn it to his own. “You’ve been nothing but kind. Any anxiety I have is not your fault specifically.” Realizing he was still holding onto Silas’ face he shifted so he was sitting more comfortably. “I’ve always been nervous.”

This time, despite the long pause, Silas did speak, but it was only to pat Lev’s ankle awkwardly and say, “So this is new.”

Lev puffed out a laugh. “New, and frustrating. You make walking look so easy. And my tail was never that sensitive. Or not that kind of sensitive.”

“Sensitive?” A laugh was hiding in Silas’ question. “Are you telling me you’re ticklish, Lev?”

“Ticklish?”

Silas was definitely grinning now. Without warning his hand crawled up Lev’s leg. Ticklish indeed, or whatever that feeling was called, because Lev shrieked and scrambled away, unable to contain his laughter. Silas followed relentlessly, pinning him in the nest of towels to continue attacking him, this time on his ribs, until Lev was breathless with laughter. Only then did Silas flop down beside him, still chuckling. 

“So how long does that last?” He asked, poking Lev’s thigh. “What’s up with that?”

“Just until I get in the water again. It’s temporary. And weird, if I’m being honest. How do you do it? The walking thing?”

“How do you deal with the tail?” Silas shot back. He shook his head. “You’re smaller than I expected. Your tail is so long...”

“It has to be long enough to be strong enough to move me, doesn’t it? I don’t need as much length to walk.”

Silas considered that. “Yeah, alright. I get it. I get it. So how quick do you change back?”

Lev considered that. “Pretty quick. It’d have to take months and months for me to start having a delay in reverting back to my normal form. And it’d take years before that delay was much of a problem. I’ve heard of mers who spent decades on land, and it took them acclimating for a while to get the ability back, but I don’t know of anyone who lost it permanently.” He thought for a moment, and then said, “Here.”

He rolled a little, until he could dip his fingers in the water. It took only a few little splashes before his tail was back, all mottled greys and blacks, with only the barest glint of gold on the edges of his scales. He flopped the tail against Silas once, teasingly, before moving to make the awkward roll back into the pool.

Before he could get far, Silas scooped him up and eased him in with far more grace than Lev could have managed. 

“Thanks,” Lev said, bracing himself on the edge of the pool. 

Silas waved him off. “Eh, anytime.” He glanced outside. “The sun is rising. You should probably get some sleep, if you’re going to.”

“Yeah,” Lev agreed, but neither of them moved. They waited so long that Lev steeled himself, surged up an stole a quick kiss, before sinking down again. “Goodnight,” he said quickly, and then disappeared below the surface before Silas could call him back.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Little enough changed after that. Silas occasionally dried Lev off and then showed him around the house, taught him how to use the tv, and how to get a snack from the fridge if fish wasn't cutting it (Lev much preferred the fish but he wasn't going to tell that to Silas, who seemed to happy to show him around). And sometimes they just curled up on the couch and read. Or, well, Lev read and Silas fiddled with anything and everything he could get his hands on, including Lev, be it his hair or his free hand. 

Sometimes Silas would crash on the couch, and it was certainly no hardship to stay curled up next to him, listening to him breathe. Lev often felt bad that Silas spent his nights with Lev, even when he didn’t complain. He needed his sleep; Lev got to sleep all day at the bottom of his pool, and Silas was starting to look rather tired. He didn’t suggest they stop, though; he was selfish, and didn’t want to miss any more of their nights than he already did, between Silas’ skipping for sleep, and the regular complaints of aches. 

A few days before Michael was supposed to come home, Lev broached something that he’d been meaning to ask: “Do you want me to teach you how to swim?”

Silas, who had been making a sandwich for himself while Lev sat on the counter, looked up. “You’d do that?”

“Well, yeah.” Lev kicked his heels against the cabinets. “Who better a teacher than a sea creature, right?”

“Well, when ya put it like that.” Silas stuffed half the sandwich in his mouth and turned to put the condiments and bread away. “You’re not gonna let me drown are you? Or worse, laugh at me for being so very bad at it.”

“Nice priorities you have there,” Lev snorted, sliding off the counter. He dodged Silas’ swat, and added, “If I can teach myself to walk, you can learn to swim with my help.”

“I’m a bit dumb when it comes to learning new things. You’d be surprised. But hey, imagine the look on my dad’s face when he sees I can.” Silas fit the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, somehow, and made a vague ‘lead on’ sort of gesture.

Lev glanced over his shoulder once to make sure that Silas was indeed following, before diving into the deeper end of the pool. As nice as it was to be able to follow Silas around, he always felt /right when he was  in the water. He popped up again, and it only took two flicks of his tail to meet Silas on the shallow end of the pool. Silas had plopped down in the shallows to wait, but when Lev took his hands to pull him deeper, he didn’t hesitate to follow.

Despite his claims to being a slow learner, Silas turned out to be a natural. Lev was delighted, and while Silas was not perfect by any means, Lev had him making leaps and bounds of progress by the end of the night. And, as promised, Lev was never farther than an arm's length away. When Silas grew tired, they floated instead, Lev steering them with easy flicks of his tail.

The next day Silas came down with some sort of flu. He came downstairs for pain killers, plenty of water, and to let Lev know he ached too much to come stay that night, and then went back to bed. Lev entertained himself with the books Silas left behind, dozing off as dawn approached in the nest of towels. Silas didn’t show  until that evening, and then it was to clean up the towels before his father got back. 

Lev watched him go, cheek pillowed on his arms, and fretted. It wasn’t like he could get Silas sick, but he wished he’d noticed any discomfort. He knew there was some sort of saying about humans and water and being sick. Though maybe that was rain, not pool water. 

Playing with his torpedos was entertaining for maybe half an hour, but in the end, Lev went back to his old habit of swimming laps, pretending he could feel the tug of the ocean around him until he was tired enough to settle on the bottom and fall asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO warning for remi being gross

Lev bolted upright, trying to place the sound that woke him. Beside him, Silas made a protesting sound, and tried to drag him back down again. After Lev swatted him away, he sat up as well. “What?”

“Someone just pulled into your driveway.”

Silas went still. “Shit.”

Michael hadn’t come home the day before. He’d sent Silas a text saying he’d be a day or so late, and hadn’t bothered to explain further. That was all fine and dandy for Lev and Silas; Lev had ended up creeping upstairs to make sure Silas was okay. Silas swore up and down all symptoms were gone, and there wasn’t any fever, so Lev had let him pull him into bed.

And then he’d just never left. 

Faced with the fact that Michael was home, and Silas had quite literally broken the one rule laid out for them both, Lev was quite stressed already. He pushed at Silas’ bare shoulder. “Get dressed,” he whispered. 

Silas shot him a look, but rolled out of bed to pull on a pair of pants. “You have to get back to the pool.”

“I know.” Lev wiggled off the bed, grimacing. When he didn’t move quick enough for Silas, Silas half picked him up in his hurry to shove him out the room, before letting go and bounding down the stairs. Lev followed slower, wary of running into Michael. He could hear Silas get to the front door right as it opened, and took the opportunity while Silas blocked the doorway to bolt for the back of the house. 

Lev couldn’t tell what exactly was being said, but Michael sounded annoyed. Distracted by his attempts to listen, Lev tripped over his own feet; running was a step he had not yet attempted much. He twisted, trying to minimize both damage and sound, and slammed hard on his shoulder. Without hesitation he rolled the last little bit, dropping into the water with an unavoidable splash. 

Once in the water he sank to the bottom. He prodded at his shoulder, and winced. He’d managed to scrape it pretty good, but he could barely taste a tang of blood in the water. It’d be fine. Too restless to settle, he did a quick lap across the deep end. That had been too close for any sort of comfort. They’d been stupid to fall asleep after last night, and Lev feared the consequences like nothing else. 

He managed two more laps before he noticed a figure standing at the edge of the pool. He took a deep breath, taking comfort in the water that surrounded him, before surfacing. 

Michael wasn’t alone. Lev sank down as far as he dared, eyeing the stranger. A shorter man, and though he was blonde like Michael, his hair had more of a golden hue to it than Michael’s pale locks. Piercing green eyes pinned Lev as easily as a harpoon.

“You weren’t lying,” the stranger said, crouching to get a better look. “Not that I thought you were, but it /is a rather wild claim, Michael. A mermaid?” He narrowed his eyes, considering Lev. “Merman.”

Lev flicked a glance at Michael. What did they want from him? Michael nodded at the shallow end of the pool. The order was clear enough, so Lev hauled himself up, only to have the stranger kick off his shoes off and hop right in, circling him to peer at his shoulder.

“Remiel,” Michael warned.

Remiel waved him off. “What happened to it’s shoulder?” Fingers prodded at the raw spot, drawing a hiss from Lev. He could feel the man behind him go still, and panic clawed its way up his throat.

Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Well?”

It took Lev a long moment to find his voice. “I lost control and ran into the pool wall. I was too busy thinking to p-pay attention.”

“What could be so all consuming you injured yourself thinking about?” Michael demanded quietly. 

Lev swallowed hard. “My birthday was yesterday,” he said, realizing with a jolt at least he didn’t have to lie about that. “I miss... I miss my family. I want to go /home.” It was the truth, and so the crack in his voice wasn’t forced. 

There wasn’t even a flicker in Michael’s expression. He made Lev wait until Lev desperately wanted to squirm under his heavy gaze, and then merely said, “Take care not to injure yourself again; that is not your body to destroy anymore. Remiel, come. We have much to discuss.”

Remiel’s fingers lingered on the back of Lev’s neck before he got up and stepped out of the pool. He was already talking animatedly aas he dried off and followed Michael upstairs to Michael’s office. Lev slowly backed into the water, letting out a shuddery breath. After a moment he dove deep, twisting as if doing so would scrub away the feeling of Remiel touching him. For once the water didn’t feel cleansing. Now more than ever this pool felt like a cage, walls beginning to press in suffocatingly close. Lev was never going home, and it was about time he accepted that.


	9. Chapter 9

“So your birthday, huh?” Silas asked, sprawled on the side of the pool. With Michael entertaining his guest, Silas had snuck back over to comfort Lev, who had hoisted himself up enough to fold his arms into a pillow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I forgot,” Lev admitted. “The days... blend. It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this birthday anyway.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Silas propped himself up on his elbow so he could tug playfully on Lev’s hair. 

“There’s nothing wrong with it.” Lev shook his head. “But it’s just another day. You know? So I’m another year older. So what?”

Silas puffed out a breath. “So you made it another year.” He brushed Lev’s cheek lightly, and smiled when Lev leaned into the touch. “That’s quite the accomplishment.”

“Is not.” Lev closed his eyes. “Lots of things get one year older. Its nothing special.” He couldn’t help his smile, even as his tone was melancholy. “I would have spent the day with my grandmother.” His tail lifted and fell absently. “She always saved stories of my parents for my birthday.” 

Silas waited him out, running a hand through his hair. Lev took comfort from the contact, sighing softly.

“They died when I was young,” Lev finally continued. With each word his voice grew smaller and smaller. “I don’t know much of what happened. But... I guess I wish I hadn’t missed it this year.” 

Silas hummed softly, and brushed his hand over Lev’s head again. They stayed silent until a throat being cleared let them know they weren’t alone. Silas twisted into a sitting position. Remiel stood, feet planted a shoulders width apart and arms folded across his chest. 

“When your father said you were fond of the thing, he didn’t imply you’d be making eyes at it. Should I be insulted you’d rather fuck a fish than me?”

“Call me unimaginative, but I’ve yet to figure out how you two think I’d end up sleeping with him,” Silas drawled. “And, by all means, be insulted that I have standards, low as they may be. It’s not /my fault you don’t meet them.”

Lev, knowing damn well he had no poker face and was as red as a sunset, stuck to hiding behind Silas’ bulk rather than let Remiel catch wind of his mortification. It was all well and dandy to be bold and direct with Silas, but that was Silas, and Lev had enjoyed the shock on his face when Lev had kissed him. This was a stranger, and somehow Lev didn’t think that Remiel would be amused if he knew everything that Lev and Silas had done.

“You might not want to be too attached. Your father has little patience for baubles, no matter how pretty they are. I’m sure I wouldn’t mind if you came to visit, of course.”

“What?” Silas was on his feet in a heartbeat. “Dad hasn’t said anything-”

“Does he need your input to make decisions about his property?” Remiel challenged. There was a glint to his green eyes that left Lev feeling sick. He didn’t have to say anything more; Silas shouldered past harshly, and disappeared upstairs noisily.

Lev considered pushing off and vanishing below the surface, but before he could Remiel was pacing forward. Too late Lev found himself frozen in fear, fingers digging into the side of the pool until they went white. 

“Michael not like to collect pretty things, but I do. And I do think that this will kill to birds with one stone. Or fish, as it were.” Remiel crouched, giving a low laugh when Lev jerked away from his gentle touch. “Michael doesn’t know a good thing when he has it, but one man’s trash is another’s treasure.”


	10. Chapter 10

The night was still and the house quiet when Silas snuck downstairs, towels piled high in his arms. For once he wasn’t speaking, just, hushed Lev when the mer tried to ask what on earth he was doing. He helped Lev out of the pool and began roughly toweling him down, though he did gentle when he got to Lev’s fins. A finger pressed to Lev’s lips forestalled any more questions, and the moment Lev was dry enough to have legs, Silas bundled him up in a fresh towel and carried him out the door.

He wouldn’t let Lev say anything until he’d buckled Lev into the front seat of a sleek car and pulled quietly out of the driveway. Lev craned his neck to watch the house disappear before saying quietly, “Did you just kidnap me?”

Silas laughed then, the sound breathless. “I’d rather call it rescuing you but I’m sure my father will see it that way.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Let's get you home. I should have done this sooner.”

The frustration in Silas’ tone startled Lev. “I’d never ask you to go against your father,” he said hesitantly. “You’re going to get in trouble.”

Silas gave another laugh, but this one didn’t have any humor to the sound. “Lev, if you’d stayed... I cant even call what you had a life, stuck in that pool. Remiel is a fucking asshole, and you’re not a thing to /own, Lev. You’re a person. Fuck, Lev. I should have thought of this sooner. We had all that time when Dad wasn’t here.” He let out a shaky breath. “I was selfish, not even thinking about getting you /out.”

Lev watched him for a moment, before saying hesitantly, “Some of it wasn’t so bad.” When Silas shot him a disbelieving look, Lev felt his cheeks heat. “I enjoyed last night, alright?”

Silas blinked, before giving an amused huff. “Well I’m glad you had that, at least.” He seemed to realize this sounded dismissive, because he was quick to add, “I enjoyed it too, but, hell, Lev, you shouldn’t have been put through that just for...” 

“I know.” Lev tucked his feet up on the seat. “I’d rather have met... any other way.”

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. On a dock, crying about my most recent lover, and this pretty little mer comes to make me smile.”

Lev cracked a smile himself. “Maybe not that melodramatic, Silas. I can’t imagine you crying.” He wrapped his arms around his knees. “And I hope I never have to.” He cleared his throat, and then added quickly, “Your smile’s too pretty to miss any chance to see it.”

“You almost got through that without pink cheeks. I’m impressed.” Even though he grinned, Silas still leaned over and turned on the radio. Lev snuck a glance at Silas, and was unsettled to see a familiar blank expression that didn’t sit right on Silas. Keeping all reactions locked up and tucked out of sight was his father’s thing.

At some point Lev dozed off watching the world fly by out the window. He would have been more curious about the sort of places humans lived if he hadn’t been so worried. He couldn’t even tell why; they had gotten out of the house and well away without being stopped, and what was Michael going to do, tell the police his merman had been stolen? And yet a hollow feeling yawned in his chest. Something had to go wrong. This went over far too well. That thought chased him into his dreams, and out again, when they pulled to a stop.

Silas cut the engine and sat there for a long moment. “I’m going with you. At least until we find one of your kind.”

“Silas...”

“Lev. Just... let me help fix this.” Silas hit the steering wheel with the heel of his palm. “I owe you that much, and I have to know you made it. Okay? Please.”

Lev chewed on his bottom lip. “I... okay. Okay.”

“Thank you,” Silas breathed, leaning over to steal a quick kiss. “Come on, let's go. I had a friend, uh, acquire us a boat.”

“Acquire?”

“Don’t ask.” Silas circled around to help Lev out, tucking the towel around him tightly. “I guess it won’t be real bad if you grow your tail, but... I’d rather you in the boat with me.”

Lev gave a noncommittal sound, tipping his head back with eyes closed as he took in the salty air of the sea. So close, he could feel it tugging at his heart. Not really home, not his waters, but compared to that pool, it was close enough to it to count.

“Come on,” Silas said, putting a hand on his back to steer him. “Before anyone stupid like us wanders over. We need to get going.”

Lev eyed the boat with uncertainty. It didn’t really seem like an open ocean sort of boat, but Lev knew little about boats to begin with, so when Silas settled him at the prow and started fussing with getting it started. As they pulled away from the dock, Lev tried to tell himself that it was just coincidence that a second car pulled up beside the one they’d left behind. No one got out, and soon enough they were too far away to see anything else at all.


	11. Chapter 11

Things went to shit pretty much right away, and Lev didn’t have the heart to point out to Silas that if he’d just let Lev slip away into the ocean he would have been just fine. Silas’s cell phone started to ring almost as soon as they got really going. He ignored it, and the second call. It was the third he finally answered, if only to say, “Be back in time for dinner, Dad,” before he hung up. 

That really should have been the end of it, but Silas made the poor choice to answer the next call. That argument went on long enough that Lev tuned them both out. He focused on the dark horizon, and watched the dawn get blotted out by an impressive wall of dark clouds. That didn’t bode well, but Lev wasn’t about to interrupt Silas’ heated conversation. It seemed rather cathartic for him. Lev just bundled deeper in the towel to avoid most of the spray.

The soft, “oh, shit,” from Silas informed him that maybe he should have said something. The boat slowed to a stop, and for a moment they just watched the storm. 

Lev twisted. “Should you go back?” He asked, and then winced at Silas’ scandalized expression. “Silas, its not worth your life to go right into that storm. I  _ live _ in the ocean. I’ll be fine. You can barely swim.”

“Yeah, and how did you end up where my dad could get you in the first place? Because of a storm.” Silas set his jaw, and refused to look him in the eye.

“Yeah, because I was too close to shore. We’re plenty far away, Silas. I’ll be fine.” Lev let the towel drop down around his waist, moving to stand. “Don’t be stupid about this.” 

Silas’ expression closed off. “Everything will be fine. Boats are made to float.”

“ _Silas_.”

Silas ignored him, starting the engine again with a stony look. Lev sank back down onto the seat, and twisted to watch the clouds approach.When the storm hit, it hit with a vengeance, and Lev ended up staying on his seat only through an iron grip on the side of the boat and sheer willpower. Mer tails weren’t made for staying on slick seats, and with the rain there was no way Lev could have stayed dry. This boat wasn’t made for this kind of weather, just as he’d tried to tell Silas, so really, at this point, Lev was just waiting for them to capsize. At least Lev could swim, and he’d be damned if he let Silas drown. 

Maybe believing it would happen ended up jinxing them, but what he hadn’t expected was to be tossed from the boat so hard it took him several moments to make it back to the surface. The rain did him no favors, and neither did the waves. 

“Silas!” As if Silas could hear him over the storm. Lev ducked under, aiming for where he was sure the boat had been, but after a few feet he popped back up. “Silas! _Silas_!”

There was no answer.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Lev  eventually dove deep and waited for the water above to calm while he searched below. It was hopeless and he damn well knew it, but he searched anyway, sweeping in wider and wider circles, and wishing he knew where the hell the boat went. A low croon of fear built in his throat; he had counted on being able to grab Silas and hold him above the water. He wasn’t supposed to lose him before he even had a chance to try.

He swam for hours, it felt like, trying to find some sort of sign, either of the boat, or of Silas. He surfaced as soon as the rain let up, twisting in a circle and trying to catch a glimpse of the boat. “Silas!”

“Levant?” A familiar voice, but not the one he wanted. Still, he twisted to wave at the mer who was making his way over. “Lev! Where have you been? Your grandmother has had everyone out looking for you for weeks and weeks.”

Fairfax had been a regular fixture of Lev’s childhood, and just the sheer comfort of having someone from before this mess was enough that Lev bolted forward and flung his arms around Fax. “I need your help.”

“Hey, yeah. What happened?” 

“It’s a very long story but I lost a human in the storm and I need to find him.” Lev drew back, swimming in a tight circle around Fax. “I have to.”

Fax twisted to keep an eye on him, concern etched on his face. “Lev, you know-”

“Please. I have to.” Lev’s voice was faint, and he went still as he faced Fax with a look that the other mer couldn’t hold.

“Of course.” Fax reached out, twining their fingers lightly. “Hey. Deep breaths. I’ll help. What are friends for?”

Lev gave a small nod, casting a distracted glance through the leftover rain from the storm.

“Hey.” Fax gave a small tug of his hand to get Lev’s attention. “After that we have to go show your grandmother you’re alright. She’s been worried sick. Okay?”

“I promise. But Silas is my priority. He didn’t have to help me, and of all the humans I... he’s the only one who didn’t deserve this.” Lev gave an agitated twitch of his tail, disentangling himself from Fax so he could start moving again. 

Fax considered him for a moment, grey eyes solemn, and then said, “Tell me about what happened on the way.”

So Lev did. All of it tumbled out. The good, the bad, the really bad, and the embarrassingly blunt truth of everything that happened. Fax was... well, Fax was Fax, and Lev knew he wouldn’t judge. He didn’t judge anyone, even his asshole of a cousin. Fax took everything at face value and listened with a careful thoughtfulness that had always soothed Lev. 

Not even Fax knew what to say, though, when Lev was finished. In the end he bumped shoulders with a sympathetic croon. It was going to have to be enough, though, because as Lev’s story came to a close, a solitary boat came into view. Almost as if the world wanted to emphasize this, the last of the rain eased off. Lev’s breath hitched, and he dove forward, shooting through the water as fast as he could. 

Climbing into the boat with his tail was difficult, but Lev had determination on his side. Silas wasn’t there. Lev closed his eyes, breath hitching. Half the cushions from the seats were missing, and there was far too much sea water in the bottom to be able to even think of drying off. 

“Lev,” Fax warned. “We shouldn’t linger.”

Right. Blinking his eyes open again, Lev crawled forward, not really sure what he was looking for, but determined to find something. Anything. He opened cupboards and little nooks. All he found were bottles of water, a first aid kit, some flares, and Silas’ phone, which miraculously still turned on when Lev ran his fingers over it. Seven missed calls from Silas’ dad.  Of course.

“Lev!” This time there was a distinct crack of distress in Fax’s tone. “Someone’s coming.”

As he said that, the phone screen lit up with Michael’s number. Lev startled, distantly aware of the distinct sound of both an approaching boat and Fax diving deep. Lev dropped the phone back in the little cabinet he’d found it in. They really shouldn’t stay any longer. 

As Lev hauled himself up, preparing to teeter over the side of the boat and into the water, he caught sight of the craft speeding towards them. This boat was slightly bigger, but that wasn’t what made Lev freeze. That couldn’t be Michael already, but it _was_ , and the cold dread in his stomach left him motionless. 

“Lev,” Fax hissed, sending a large splash with his tail. “We need to go. _Now_.”

Now, before Michael saw him, but that was a little too late, with Lev perched right up in plain sight. It was bad enough, thinking of Michael, but worse still to think that Lev might have inadvertently caused his son’s death. Because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, even Lev knew there was more than a small chance that Silas had drowned in that storm. 

Fax shoved forward and grabbed Lev’s wrist, yanking him clumsily in the water. The sudden movement slammed his face into the side of the boat, leaving Lev stunned. Or maybe it was the residual fear of knowing every second Michael's boat sped closer, and stars, Lev had _killed_ his son.

Their mistake was Fax letting go and expecting Lev to come to his senses the moment he hit the water. Fax shot down deep, and Lev was too close to the surface, too slow to start moving, to avoid the net. It was too easy to get tangled, and then he was getting pulled to the open air above all over again. 

Lev twisted, trying to disentangle before he was dumped on the boat’s deck. Each movement seemed to tangle himself further, much to his horror. Even worse, as he was lifted up, Fax shot up again, latching onto the net and trying his best to tear through it with his sharp teeth. Not that it did either of them any good.

The lurch of the net swinging over the side of the boat disoriented him as much as the recent blow to the head, and he found himself staring up at Michael. There was fury there, unlike anything Lev had  seen. 

“Where is my son?”

“We were trying to find him. I’m going to find him.” Lev’s breaths came too quick, and he didn’t dare look over at Fax, who was currently being pinned by another net. “Please. I lost him, but I can find him, just let me go.”

That was too far, because Michael abruptly turned away. Whatever orders he gave were lost to Lev, who flicked a look at Fax. Guilt tore through him, twofold. Twice now he’d failed someone who was only trying to help. And through it all, Fax didn’t blame him, just let out a small, soothing trill, as if this were some small thing they could fix easily. As if just being near Lev hadn’t just ruined Fax’s life. Lev had no idea how they were going to get out of this this time.


	13. Chapter 13

It was disturbingly familiar how Lev and Fax were transferred to the back of a truck. Lev couldn’t bring himself to struggle, and his chest ached to watch Fax attempt to wiggle free and off the dock. There was still the one little kiddy pool, and Fax was the one settled there. Lev waited until the door to the truck was rattled shut, and then clawed the net off so he could help Fax do the same. After that there was little else to do but curl around the little pool as best he could. 

Fax leaned over the edge of the pool to snag Lev’s hand. “Hey. Everything will be okay.” His grey eyes, glowing faintly, were wide and earnest. “They’re just humans. We’ll figure it out.”

Lev twisted his head away, withdrawing. “I’m sorry.” The truck rumbled to life and jerked forward, drowning out whatever apologies Lev might have made.

“No, Lev. It’s not your fault. You were doing a good thing, trying to find the man who helped you.”

“I failed. He was the only reason I made it home, and I failed him. I don’t think I can do it again.”

Fax was quiet for a long moment, before flicking water on Lev. “There are two of us now. We can figure something out together.”

Lev remained silent, burying his face in his arms rather than respond. There had been two of them working on escaping before, and that had turned out so well, hadn’t it? And now Michael knew to keep an eye on them. Lev was never going to make it home, not really. A low croon built in the back of his throat, but he choked it back, and the tears that threatened too. 

Fax didn’t say anything the rest of the trip, respecting Lev’s right to grieve. They listened to the growl of the truck’s engine until it shut off. Lev didn’t even look up when the truck’s door rattled open again. 

Fax gave a low hiss, startling Lev. “Lev how often have you-”

Lev hadn’t even noticed on the long trip back he’d dried off enough to have legs again. Hadn’t noticed how easy it was to shift between tail and legs and back again now. He sat up, twisting to look at Michael. Well. No hiding it now. There was a touch too much understanding in Michael’s expression to leave Lev comfortable, but all Michael said was, “I assume you can walk.”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, just had Fax hauled from the truck. Lev scooted out after, ignoring the looks the men helping Michael sent him. He trailed behind them all, head down. 

Remiel was in the kitchen, though he came to see them carry Fax to the pool. His eyes settled on Lev longer than was comfortable, before he looked to Michael. “Where’s Silas?”

Somehow that was too much for Lev, who gave a soft, choked sound. He couldn’t even pretend to believe that Silas could survive out there. Too lost in his own grief he didn’t notice Michael move until Michael backhanded him hard enough Lev staggered against the wall.

“You lost me my _son_ ,” Michael snarled. “You don’t get to cry over him.”

“Hey, hey. Michael.” Remiel stepped between them, hands raised. “Hitting him isn’t going to bring Silas back, and if I remember correctly, he’s no longer yours to strike. We finalized that deal before they took off.”

Lev kept his eyes on the floor, touching his stinging cheek. Michael had managed to hit right where Lev had hit the side of the boat, and now it was sore twice over. He deserved it, though. He should have found a way to stay on that boat. He could have at least tried to save Silas. 

“Get it out of my house, then. Before I do more than slap it for what it and it’s kind have cost me.”

Lev jerked, head lifting. He hadn’t even considered that they might try to separate him from Fax. He cast a terrified look at Remiel, and then craned his neck as if he could see through the walls that separated him from the pool.

Michael was unmoved, and seemed ready to lose his temper again; Remiel wrapped his hand around Lev’s arm and started guiding him from the front hall and out the door before things could come to a head. “Best not to push him when he’s like this,” Remiel murmured under his breath. 

Lev didn’t reply, not even when he was nudged towards another car. Remiel got in, and then sat there without starting the car. 

“Silas not coming back doesn’t feel real,” he finally said. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and that small movement was enough for Lev to flinch. Remiel noticed, and immediately relaxed. “I don’t blame you. Whatever Michael thinks, that whole thing had Silas written all over it. You wouldn't dare on your own.” He reached over, thumb brushing the bruise on Lev’s cheek. “I know I can trust you to listen. Nothing like that will happen to you again, as long as you do.”

When Lev again remained silent, Remiel withdrew and finally started the car. Lev couldn’t bring himself to look back as they pulled away.


	14. Chapter 14

Silas nearly got washed overboard in the same wave that took Lev. Almost as soon as he realized what had happened he cut the engine, swearing up a storm and twisting to see if he couldn’t see a familiar dark head among the waves. It wasn’t like Lev could drown, he comforted himself. Lev was right, this was his home, in the water. He’d be fine.

Silas, however, had been more than a little screwed. There was no telling what he’d done to the engine, but it had refused to start, and really, he should have expected to eventually be in over his head. It took one more wave to send him tumbling into the water himself, and the only thing that saved him was the stupid seat cushion that hit him in the head when he tried to swim back to the boat. It was a pathetic thing to hold onto, but it was better than nothing, especially with the ache that was building at the base of his spine and down his legs. 

He held on hope that he’d make it to either boat or mer for far longer than he should have, until he had long given up trying to go in any particular direction and just fought to stay above the water as much as possible. 

Silas didn’t remember when he gave up trying to stay above water; he might have lost consciousness there for a little  bit there. When he finally registered that he was no longer struggling to survive, and instead felt practically cradled by the current instead. He blinked several times; eventually he focused on a rather severe faced mermaid, her silver eyes glinting with an expression he wasn’t sure he wanted to interpret.

“I wondered when you would come home,” she said.

At that Silas realized two things. One, he was underwater and breathing just fine. Two, despite the silver eyes and the feminine features, she looked remarkably like Lev. His breathing spiked as he tried to wrap his head around the whole breathing thing, and a flicker of dark tail caught his attention. 

A tail.

A god damned tail.

“What the fuck,” he choked out.

“You mother would have explained long before now, had she lived.” And with that cryptic sentence, the stranger swam off, leaving Silas to splutter and struggle to figure out how to follow after.

He eventually caught up. “Wait.  _ Wait _ . Who are you? How the fuck do you know my mother?”

She pulled to a stop to fix him with a steady look. “I am Raziel, and I knew your mother, before she rejected the sea and had you. Your mother was a mer, Silas. If you want answers, follow me. This is too long of a story to tell out in the open, and I’m waiting for someone to come home too. I’d rather not be away too long.”

“But I-” He huffed. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Could you slow down?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, and gave a little smile. “You’re a capable young man. You take after your mother. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” And then she swam off, leaving him to follow again.


	15. Chapter 15

Lev didn't sleep the whole drive, but he pretended to. It was easier that way; he could wallow in his thoughts without being interrupted by Remiel’s questions. Remiel left him alone, whether he was convinced or not. And maybe, whether he believed or not, he picked up on Lev’s want t be left alone, because he didn’t say a word as they got out of the car.

Remiel’s house was massive, and in the middle of nowhere, it seemed. Lev wasn’t sure if he was relieved or uneasy. He followed after Remiel hesitantly, wishing abruptly he’d paid attention to how they’d gotten here. Remiel held the front door open for him, and didn’t budge until Lev stepped over the threshold. The soft click of the door shutting behind them felt final. 

“I don’t have any sort of pool finished for you. I thought I  would have a few more weeks to worry about construction, but with Michael acting the way he was, I didn’t think you’d want to stay.” Remiel touched Lev’s shoulder lightly, just enough to get Lev’s attention, and then moved on. “I figured I could just give you a guest bedroom since you don’t seem to need water as much as I thought.”

Was that a jab at Lev keeping his legs a secret? Remiel’s tone had been light, and he kept walking, headed for the stairs. “I had my attic redone ages ago, when I thought I’d have a housemate. It’s practically a tiny apartment in itself.”

Lev wasn’t sure if he was supposed to reply. He followed Remiel up the stairs, puffing slightly when Remiel didn’t seem to realize he was struggling to keep up with the pace that Remiel set. Walking was so much more difficult than swimming, and he wasn’t used to trotting up two flights of stairs. 

Remiel wasn’t wrong, though. As Lev stepped into the first room, he realized it was practically its own living room, albeit a small one. There was a bookshelf to the side of the armchair full of vaguely familiar book titles. To the side there was a bedroom. When he peered in that direction Remiel gave a small gesture, as if to say, ‘Well? Go on.’ Lev bit his lip and stepped into the bedroom. It seemed fully furnished, and the bathroom through another doorway was obscenely large. When Remiel didn’t follow right away, Lev crept around the bedroom. The closet and dresser were empty, but the bed was made and had far too many pillows for one person. The bathroom was similarly both stocked and unstocked. 

“I’m almost glad that Silas backed out of living with me,” Remiel said from behind him, making Lev jump. At Lev’s startled expression, Remiel shrugged. “I’m sure that Michael wasn’t really pleased that our budding friendship or whatever was put to the side so he could hook up with a fishboy, but hey. To each his own. I don’t really blame him.”

Lev shifted his weight awkwardly. There wasn’t a safe answer to that, so he just padded over to the large bathtub. He could probably fit in it, even with his tail, just barely. He just wished he was more excited about the fact.

“You’re a quiet little guy, aren’t you?”

Again Lev looked back at Remiel, unsure if he should respond.

Remiel shook his head, giving a small sigh. “Come downstairs when you’re hungry,” he finally said. “Get settled in the meantime. And let me know if you need anything.” He lingered until Lev felt far more exposed than he ever had before, but in the end left it at that and left. 

Only then did Lev pad back into the bedroom. He hauled himself up onto the bed, and slowly pulled a loose blanket around his shoulders. Just this morning he’d been back in the ocean, and now he was back in a new cage. He couldn’t even bring himself to curl up in the bath like he’d planned. Instead he slowly listed to the side until he could ball up, still wrapped in the blanket. It was still better than going downstairs to deal with Remiel. 


	16. Chapter 16

Raziel led the way into a cave, though the entrance was narrow enough that Silas eyed it with a bit of concern before he squeezed through. It opened up after a few feet, expanding abruptly into a cavern that had many ledges and plenty of little side tunnels. Silas blinked, realizing with a second look how much it looked like a home. 

“Wow,” he said softly. 

“We can talk here,” Raziel said, settling near the floor. When Silas followed, she arched her eyebrow. “Are you going to keep the human clothes? It’s your decision, but...” Her mouth quirked. “You look ridiculous.”

Silas glanced down. In the rush of confusion he hadn't even noticed he was wearing the remains of his jeans and his shirt. Heat rose in his face. Definitely looked a bit ridiculous. He shimmied out of the pants and watched them drop. Okay, that definitely felt better. After peeling off his shirt he glanced at Raziel, who just gave a small smile.

“My mom,” he pressed. “You said you knew her.”

Raziel inclined her head ever so slightly. “Avra was a childhood friend of mine,” she said finally. “Clever mind, quick witted and generally well liked. She wanted... everything. She always wanted something. And what she wanted, she got. She was very single minded, your mother. And when she wanted your father, she got him.”

Silas slowly sank down, folding his tail awkwardly underneath him. “And then... me?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Raziel said lightly. “Your mother lived on land for years before she had you. Long enough that having legs felt more natural than a tail. She lost that innate connection every mer has with the ocean.” Raziel flicked her fingers. “She stopped gaining her tail even whens he’d spend a full night in the waters with me.”

“That happens?” Silas asked, brows furrowing.

Raziel nodded once. “Why do you think you have taken so many years to shift? How old are you? In your twenties? That’s nearly two decades of not being in your natural habitat. Your body had to relearn how to take on its natural form.”

Silas tried to digest that. “How long would it... how long does it take to not be able to shift back and forth?”

“A couple years. I’m sure your mother hid your truth from Michael until her death, if he still doesn’t know. You were what, two when she died?”

“Three,” Silas corrected quietly. “And no, I don’t think he does.”

Raziel nodded once. She might have gone on, or might not, but before she could, an agitated mer wiggled into the cave. “Razi, Fax never came back. And you know how anal he is about punctuality.”

Raziel pushed off the floor, crooning in a soothing tone. “Calm down, Sorin.” That earned her a glare from the mer, but his red-gold fins settled somewhat. “He went out again?”

“You still go looking, why in all the seas would he stop? For your sake as much as his.” Sorin flicked a hand irritably. “Most of us still do.”

Raziel circled him once, still making that soft noise, though there was an underlying note of worry to her tone now. Silas’ scales prickled. 

“You lost someone?” He asked.

“Her grandson,” Sorin explained, frowning. “And my cousin. Who are you?”

“Silas,” he offered, but neither mer was listening anymore.

“Do you think he found Levant?” Raziel stilled, fixing Sorin with an intent look.

Sorin shook his head, “No, he would have brought Lev home right away-”

“Lev!” Silas blurted. When they looked to him, he explained hastily, “I was trying to bring a mer home. That's how I ended up in the water. I lost him in the storm.”

“And you didn’t think to mention that earlier?” Raziel asked dryly.

Silas gave an uncomfortable shrug. “I forgot. You mentioned my mother.” He paused. “Lev should be out there somewhere. We weren’t super close to shore when he washed overboard. Maybe your cousin did find him? He’d be looking for me and my boat.” 

“Then we had better let him know you are found.” Raziel circled Sorin one more time, before slipping out the exit, leaving the other two to follow.


	17. Chapter 17

Remiel eventually reappeared, though it took several hours. He took one look at Lev huddled under his blanket, and shook his head. “Okay, nope. You're coming downstairs.” 

Lev peeked out at him, and silently pled to be left alone. His unspoken protests went ignored in favor of demanding hands gently teasing him from the bed. Once he was up, Remiel backed off, though he made it clear that he was to be followed. Lev tucked the blanket around his shoulders before creeping after.

Remiel gestured to a chair in the dining room as soon as they made it downstairs. “Sit. I'll be back.”

Lev sank into the chair and tried to figure out how being silent and withdrawn here was any better than silent and withdrawn in a bed two stories above. He fisted his hands in the blanket, but other than that held still, as if he could fade into the chair by sheer force of will.

Remiel returned soon enough, and crouched so Lev had to look him in the eye. “I'm going to put something on that bruise,” he said quietly. “And then I'm going to finish making something to eat. I'm not going to force you, but I'd rather you try, alright?”

Lev only nodded when he realized Remiel wasn't going to move until he got a response. Remiel smiled, a small expression, and then did exactly what he’d said he’d do. Not curious enough to ask about whatever cream Remiel was dabbing on his face, Lev just closed his eyes and waited. To his surprise, Remiel didn't linger, and as soon as he was done, he vanished into the kitchen.

For a few minutes Lev sat there, debating if he dared sneak back upstairs and hide on the bed again. In the end, the smell convinced him to follow Remiel into the kitchen. Remiel glanced up, seeming pleased. Now that he was here, though, Lev had no idea what to do. There was really nothing _to_ do.

Without warning, Remiel turned to him. “Here. Fill these up and put them on the table.” A couple of glasses were shoved gently into Lev’s hands, and Remiel gave a nod to the refrigerator. 

Lev took more than a few moments to figure out how to work the fridge; the dispenser was a bit more complicated than the one at Michael’s house. Remiel didn’t say a word though, and Lev was free to disappear into the dining room again. He fussed over where to put the cups for a bit longer than he really should have; he didn’t want Remiel sitting near him, but putting them at opposite ends of the table was a bit obvious.

He gave up in the end and just set the cups down side by side. By the time Remiel reappeared, Lev was back in his seat, blanket again wrapped around his shoulders. 

“You eat fish, right?” Remiel asked, setting a plate down in front of him. When Lev only nodded, Remiel sighed. “I’m beginning to think that Silas only liked you because you let him fill the silence.”

“I talked to Silas,” Lev said without thinking.

“Truly a feat,” Remiel murmured as he sat. “Most of us can’t get a word in edgewise.”

Lev swallowed around a lump in his throat. “I had no problem talking with him.” His breath hitched, but all he said after that was, “I don’t want to talk about Silas.”

“Alright,” Remiel agreed easily, and started to dig in.

Left to his own thoughts, Lev eyed the baked fish on his plate. He certainly wasn't used to cooked.... Anything if he could get away with it. 

“It’s not poisoned,” Remiel promised in amusement. “I do know how to cook. I had to learn, or learn to suffer other people in my house.”

Lev ignored the silverware Remiel had brought, and picked at the fish. Better than being rude, anyway, even if he would have rathered the fish fresh. If Remiel was bothered, he didn’t say anything. Lev even managed to finish half of what was on his plate before he decided that was more than enough cooked food for one night. By that point Remiel was already done, and he took Lev’s plate away without complaint.

“Don’t run away just yet,” Remiel called. 

Lev, foiled before he could even finish standing, sank back down into the chair until Remiel came and shooed him into the living room. He found himself on the couch next to Remiel, shaking his head when asked if he had a movie preference. It wasn’t like he could pay attention to a movie tonight. He just wanted to go to bed. Maybe if he did he’d wake up and find this was all a bad dream. That he hadn’t failed Silas. That Silas wasn’t _dead_. 

Silas was dead.

It hit him, just then, that he;d been holding on to a tiny bit of hope that Silas could have been okay. Logically it made no sense. Silas was not a strong swimmer by any means, the boat had been empty, which meant he’d fallen over board. There was no way Silas could have survived. So Silas had to be dead.

Irreversibly, definitely dead.

Once the tears started, he couldn’t get them to stop. Remiel’s little sigh didn’t help anything. But, despite that tiny noise, Remiel’s hands were gentle as he pulled Lev into his lap, blanket and all. For once he didn’t have any sort of comment. He just let Lev cry himself out, rubbing his back and holding him close. 

Eventually the uneven sobs petered out to exhausted silence. Remiel waited until then to stand and carry Lev upstairs. He settled Lev under the covers, and just said, “I’ll see you at breakfast,” before quietly closing the door behind him. 

Too tired to cry again, no matter how much he wanted to, Lev curled up tighter, and wished that tomorrow would never come.


	18. Chapter 18

Silas found himself trailing behind as he adjusted to swimming. Sorin was unsympathetic, and never once slowed down. Raziel eventually gave in and dropped back. 

“If you’d calm down and stop thinking about it it’d come easier,” Raziel advised. She laughed at the dirty look he shot her. “You’re trying to work against your body, intentional or not.” She considered him for a moment, and then asked, “How did you meet my grandson?”

Oof. Silas took a deep breath, and then admitted, “My father brought fhim home and kept him in a pool he’d had built for him.” He could feel her anger, and was quick to add, “We were trying to get him away, and then the storm hit, and I lost him. I should have tried sooner, but... for all I do things to piss my dad off, I didn’t think to defy him so openly.”

“What was the last straw?” Raziel fixed him with a steady look. 

A flash of guilt wormed its way through Silas. “He was going to send Lev away. It was suddenly now or never, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see him again either way.”

Raziel gave a small sound in the back of her throat, but when Silas glanced at Raziel she was looking ahead. “Michael is always finding ways to ruin things. The saddest part is, he doesn’t even try.” 

Silas wasn't sure what to say. He was saved from having to answer by Sorin hurrying back. Yet another mer had joined him, face drawn tight. 

“Cyrus found them,” Sorin replied, raking his hand through his red-gold curls. “In a boat, netted like a fucking fish.”

Silas felt like now was a bad time to point out that they were half fish, after all. His next thought was that it was entirely likely his father was behind this. He opened his mouth, and closed it again, more than once.

“Spit it out,” Raziel said, drawing the others attention to him.

“I wouldn't put it past Michael to have already found my boat.” Silas pursed his lips. “I never turned off my phone and I know damn well he has gps tracking on my phone.” An uncomfortable truth, but Silas had never pretended that his dad was normal. He glanced between them, and when he didn't really get a response, he added, “I don't know what you plan to do, but I can go home and figure shit out.”

“Do you think Michael is a man to reason with?” Raziel asked quietly.

“Who said anything about asking?” Silas shot back. “I might do a lot of stupid things, but I know my father wouldn't just give me something because I asked.”

“Your first try didn’t exactly turn out well,” Raziel pointed out. Sorin and Cyrus flicked glances between her and Silas, wise enough to keep their questions to themselves. 

“My first try I was too busy trying to steal one more minute to focus on... anything but Lev. I know better now.” Silas set his jaw stubbornly. “With any luck my father will be too relieved I survived that it’ll help with his temper if I get caught.”

“One shouldn’t rely on luck alone,” Raziel murmured, before nodding once. She continued on with a flick of her grey tail, leaving Silas and the others to follow or be left behind. Silas must have been getting better at the swimming thing, because it wasn’t as much of a struggle to keep up. 

It took more than an hour to get to the dock, and when they did, Raziel leveled SIlas with such a steady look that he winced without knowing why.

“Near the beginning of the deck is a weather proof barrel. This bit of land is owned by a landbound mer, and she makes sure we have supplies, as her parents did,” Cyrus said. “Some of the clothes in the barrel should fit decently enough, so you’re not wandering around naked.” Cyrus’ lips quirked. “Humans tend to be bothered by that sort of thing.”

Silas couldn’t really argue with that. He surfaced carefully, but the sky was dark, and there was no movement, so he heaved himself onto the dock. Only then did he realize just how awkward this was going to be. How on earth Lev preferred his tail was beyond Silas. It was all around cumbersome and difficult. Hoping against hope no one saw him, Silas wriggled to the end of the dock, and was relieved to find the barrel. He was pleased to find towels there in addition to clothes. 

Once legg-ed and human once again, he pulled on the first pair of sweats that looked close to his size, and a tee that was definitely a touch too small. He hesiated before folding the towels up and tucking them back in the barrel. He glanced back, but the water was dark and empty; if the others were watching him they were hidden from his view.

To his astonishment, his car was still there. He thanked whatever gods made him the sort of idiot who left his keys in an unlocked car (the sort that made him impulsively run off with a stolen merman, probably). Speed limits had rarely meant much to him, and it was the middle of the night, so he made amazing time as he headed home. 

The house was, unexpectedly, dark. Silas knew his father for the night owl he was, but no one stirred as he crept through the house. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to get two mermen in his car; likely he would have to towel them down and hope Lev’s companion could walk. Or Silas could carry him, but he’d rather not. He didn’t like to admit it but he was running on fumes. 

Not a single ripple disturbed the surface of the pool, but when Silas flicked the water with his fingers, a dirty blonde head surfaced slowly. Silas waited, but there seemed to only be one mer in the pool. “Where’s Lev?” He asked in a hurried whisper. The mer’s eyes widened, and he shook his head once.

A light flicked on, and Silas twisted to see his father. He stood slowly, and took a careful step forward, hands lifted carefully. “Dad, I-”

Michael didn’t give him a chance to say much else. He was yanked forward into a tight hug, startling him. He hadn’t been held by his father in any way for years. “I thought you were dead.”

“I was just really lucky,” Silas said, unwilling to break the hug and lose this. Not even for Lev.

Michael pulled back, holding Silas’ face firmly. “That will _not_ happen again. I already lost your mother to the sea. I refuse to lose you too.”

“Dad,” Silas tried, and only succeeded in having Michael stepping away. “Dad!” He followed after Michael, down into the basement, without a second thought. “Dad, seriously, would you slow down for a sec. I need to talk to you.”

Michael paused, and gestured for Silas to look. Silas finished trotting down the stairs, and peered around at the room. If he didn’t know his dad he would have called this a man cave, complete with a small bathroom. 

“Dad, I don’t-”

The door clicked shut behind him, and the soft _snick_ of the lock clicking home sent a bolt of horror through him. 

“Dad!”

Michael’s voice was muffled by the door, but he heard clear enough: “I meant it, Silas. I won’t lose you too. Not to the sea, or that mer.”


	19. Chapter 19

Breakfast was awful, and Lev felt terribly for disliking what Remiel made. He just couldn’t really get around the taste of being cooked. Remiel looked annoyed enough, at least until Lev flinched back. After a long moment, Remiel sighed. 

“Is there anything you will eat?” He asked, snagging Lev’s plate to finish it off. 

Lev burrowed into his blanket, eyes downcast, and said hesitantly, “Fish?”

Remiel gave a low noise in the back of his throat. “I tried fish yesterday.”

When melting into the floor didn’t become an option, Lev admitted, “It tastes funny cooked. Tastes off. Not natural.”

When he dared to glance up, Remiel looked thoughtful, not irritated. “Anything uncooked? Or just fish, only fish?”

“I- I don’t know.” He was too keyed up to think about it right. “But I can’t...” He gestured helplessly at the bacon and scrambled eggs. “It’s  _ wrong _ .”

Remiel leaned back in his chair, nibbling absently on one of Lev’s pieces of bacon. “Alright,” he said slowly. “Alright.” For a moment he just sat there, thoughtful. “How about this. You see if there’s any fruit or vegetables, something, anything in my fridge you’re willing to eat. While you do that and get settled, I’ll go to the store and stock up on some uncooked fish. If that doesn’t work, I’ll find a way to keep me fresh stocked in what you can eat. Sound like a plan?”

Lev gave a slow nod. Only when Remiel took the plates back to the kitchen did Lev sink back into the chair, tucking his blanket closer. There was very little clatter in the kitchen, and Remiel was back.

He dropped an apple in Lev’s hand. “Try that,” He said. When Lev took a nibble and didn’t immediately show disgust, Remiel gave a pleased hum. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you actually told me things. I can’t read minds you know. You have to ask things.”

Lev blinked, but gave a small nod. Remiel rolled his eyes, but just turned away. Lev went back to nibbling on the apple until he heard the front door click shut. Only then did he unfold from the chair. He hadn’t expected Remiel to leave so soon. He padded to the window, and watched the car pull away. Did Remiel really trust him to stay put so soon?

Not that it mattered. Lev wasn’t going to leave. Who knew? This could be a test, and Lev was still unsettled enough to not want to push Remiel. Instead he retreated back to the table, and finished his apple before he began to wander the house. He knew which room was Remiel’s without having to step foot in it, and left that room untouched. The rest held little interest, just repeats and more grand gestures of wealth that meant nothing to Lev. 

There was really nothing to do. Lev ended up taking the chance to wander up and down the stairs, because he didn’t have a pool to do laps in. It was good practice, he told himself. For what, he didn’t know, but he was moving and it soothed some of the restlessness inside of him, enough that he left the blanket puddled at the top of the stairs.

The hours dragged on; Lev had no idea how far the store was, but he started to grow concerned when the sun reached its peak and began to set. He eventually wandered into the kitchen to find more fruit. The berries he found were better than the leftover fish from the night before, so he settled on the counter and snacked off and on as he watched the time on the clock.

Mid-afternoon had come and past when the front door opened again. At Remiel’s wary greeting, Lev gave a chirp, forgetting, for a moment, that Remiel wouldn’t know what that meant. “In the kitchen,” he tried. 

The quickly forming bruise on Remiel’s face was shock enough that Lev went utterly still. Wounded animals were best not to startle. Remiel just put away the fresh fish, and then turned to lean against the counter, a few inches away from Lev. 

“What.... happened?” Lev asked, when Remiel chose to do nothing more than stare at him with a small frown.

Remiel blinked, touching his face as if he’d forgotten the injury. “Nothing to worry your pretty little head about,” he finally said, turning away. “Just a misunderstanding. You hungry or were my blueberries enough for you?”

“I could eat.”

Remiel arched a brow, and waited.

“I’m a little hungry,” Lev amended.

Remiel frowned, but in the end said, “Progress, I suppose.”

The fish tasted a little too much like plastic, but it was worlds better than the cooked fish the night before. It didn’t take much to eat all of what Remiel had offered, though he turned down Remiel’s offer for more. Remiel was pleased enough with this that when Lev asked to have the rest of the night to himself, Remiel let him slip upstairs to find a book to read in bed without protest. Lev ended up falling asleep in the chair, book clutched tight, but it was better than the night before, no doubt about that.


	20. Chapter 20

Silas’ brief temper tantrum didn’t do him any good. All he did was work himself up, and his shouts and demands didn’t get him a response. In the end he ran out of steam, and crashed on the couch, still fuming. He woke up still pissed, and no longer alone.

Remiel leaned against the wall near the stairs, arms crossed. “Is there any point you wish you’d actually moved in with me? Your rooms were a hell of a lot better at my place, Si, and I  _ told  _ you your dad was only going to get worse.”

“Fuck you,” Silas snapped, sitting up. “He’s lost his damn mind.”

“I don’t really blame him,” Remiel said casually. “I mean, you really should have died in that storm. Your little friend is convinced enough that you did.”

Silas stood, shoulders tensing. “Where is he?” When Remiel just smirked, Silas took a step forward. “Where is Lev?”

“Back at my place. In what would have been your rooms.” Remiel’s smile never left. “He’s settling in real nice. I’d offer to let you come and see, but you seem a bit held up at the moment, and I’d hate to upset him more than he already is.” A dismissive shrug. “He cried himself to sleep last night, you know. I had to carry him to bed.”

Maybe it was the smug tone. Maybe it was the deliberate implications. Maybe it was-

Yeah, okay. Silas just really wanted to punch Remiel. So he did. He would have punched him again, but Remiel ducked away, and Silas ended up hitting the wall. He doubled over, swearing. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Nothing was broken, but hell. By the time he was up, Remiel had made it up the stairs, and Michael had already stepped into the room, and stopped him with a hand to his chest. 

“That is  _ enough _ .”

“Fuck you,” Silas seethed, moving to step around his father and have a go at Remiel again.

“Silas.” This time his father’s tone made him stop out of sheer instinct, his spine snapping ramrod straight as he turned his gaze unwillingly back to Michael. “That is enough,” Michael repeated in a deadly soft tone.

The moment the door clicked shut behind them, Silas gave the coffee table a vicious enough kick that it tipped over. “Shit. Fucking  _ shit _ .” As he began to pace, he jerked his hands through his hair. Lev left alone with Remiel was far from comforting. He knew Remiel, as much as he wished he didn’t. 

The rest of the day seemed to ooze by. Silas damn near climbed the walls, restless and pissy. He regretted chucking the plate of food Michael brought him at his father, especially when Michael didn’t bother with a second attempt. There was nothing to do but clean up his messes and then keep wandering the basement.

It had to have been late when he heard the doorknob rattle. He’d settled uneasily on the couch again, but now he stood. “Dad?” He asked, when the door didn’t open.

There was a brief pause, and then an unfamiliar voice said, “No.”

Silas furrowed his brows. “Fairfax?” He checked.

“Yes. I, um. I couldn’t find the key. I’m sorry.” There was a soft thump, as if the mer had leaned against the door. 

After a moment Silas settled down against the door too. “It’s fine. Dad’s asleep then, I guess?”

“Yeah. And it took me a while to dry off.” Fax let out a shaky breath. “So you’re the human that Lev was so anxious to find?”

“Yeah.” Silas paused. “Ish.”

“Ish?”

It still felt ridiculous to say, but Silas needed to hear it out loud again, so he said lightly, “Turns out my mom was one of you.” He tipped his head back. “Which means I survived because I have tail, which is fucking weird.”

“Just your mom was a mer?” Fax asked, before checking himself. “Duh. Your dad is human. Sorry. Silly question.”

“It’s okay,” Silas said. He waited until the silence stretched too long, and then said, “Sorry I sucked at rescuing you both.”

“You kinda do,” Fax agreed. He laughed softly when Silas gave an insulted huff. “I’ll keep looking for the key. It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

“You don’t have to go just yet,” Silas blurted.

There was a pause, and then Fax settled against the door again. “I can stay a bit longer, if you want,” he promised.

“That’d uh... yeah. Please. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”


	21. Chapter 21

Silas was awake long after Fax retreated back to the pool. Restless frustration beat back his exhaustion for hours. It wasn’t long after he finally caved that his father came downstairs, waking him with a flick of the lights. Silas opened one eye, startled to find his father had brought a tray of breakfast. He sat up slowly, rubbing his face. “Dad?”

“Try not to throw this one at the wall. You’re better than that.” Michael turned away, headed back upstairs.

Silas bit back a retort that his father was better than locking his only son in a goddamn basement, and instead said, “Dad. Wait.”

Michael paused at the foot of the stairs, archin a single brow. “Yes?”

“Can I have my phone back? There’s nothing to do down here.”

“I can bring you some books later.”

Michael might as well have slapped Silas. They both knew it; Silas had spent too many hours of his childhood with Michael telling him he just wasn’t trying hard enough, that he wasn’t _practicing_ enough to be good at reading, for that to be anything but a backhanded comment. Silas swallowed down the hurt and frustration. “Dad. Please.”

The pause was agonizingly long, but Michael eventually said, “We’ll see.”

That was as good as Silas was going to get, so he sank back down on the couch, staring blearily at his breakfast. He could eat it before it got cold, or he could flop back over and try to get more sleep.

Not five minutes later he was sprawled on the couch, deep asleep again.

He got a few more hours in before he woke again, this time definitely hungry enough he couldn’t ignore it. His breakfast was cold, as he’d expected, but he finished it off anyway, and then stretched out in hopes of chasing down some more sleep. This time he couldn’t quite make it work, and ended up getting up to pace. And pace. And pace.

He expected his father to take longer to consider his request, but when Michael brought him lunch, his phone was on the tray. Michael held it out, but when Silas reached for it, he withdrew somewhat. “Just a suggestion,” he said lightly. “I added a few books to your library on here. You might want to read them.”

“Yeah, sure.” Silas didn’t expect his dad to hand it over, but it was nice to feel it cradled in his hand. A tiny bit of freedom. It was worth his father’s comments. He stuffed down his pride and added, “Thank you.”

Michael’s mouth tipped upwards on one side. “Of course. I’m not a monster.”

 Silas winced visibly. He’d never implied his father was. Michael was a dick, sure, but Silas would never call him a monster. He still waited for his dad to leave before he settled back on the couch, flicking through his phone. Michael had undoubtedly gone through it, but Silas was used to that. He’d just have to change his password again. 

It took him less than five minutes to toss self control out the window and text Remiel. The chances of getting a response was low, so when Remiel shot back with just a picture of Lev curled up on his couch, a ridiculously fluffy blanket wrapped around him, Silas couldn’t tell if he was pissed or if he was relieved to know that Lev looked... okay. Unhappy and distant, but he wasn’t visibly upset, either. 

It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t a disaster, and so Silas accepted it. What else could he do? He was stuck down here, for the foreseeable future. At least until Fax found that key, and Silas, for all his impatience, wasn’t going to rush Fax. It was best to go slow anyway, so Michael wasn’t suspicious, and so Fax didn’t get caught.

Having his phone did help, at least to keep him from getting up and wearing a hole in the floor. He did is best to keep himself distracted, to the point of downloading three new, rather pointless, games to his phone. He really didn’t expect anything to happen until later, so it was a shock to have the door at the top of the stairs open. Silas jerked to his feet, already moving to help, because that was _Fax_ being half shoved down the stairs, and he didn’t trust his dad not to let the mer go to tumble down the rest of the stairs. Fax still had his tail and would very much topple. 

Silas barely got him the rest of the way down the stairs and out of the way before Michael shut the door. In the end Silas found himself on the floor, arms full of a startled looking mer. “What the hell?” He touched the reddened parts of Fax’s arms, where he was pretty sure finger shaped bruises would end up appearing. “You alright?”

Fax gave his muted gold tail a halfhearted flop. “I’ll live.” He pushed off Silas’ lap and awkwardly twisted until he could lean against the wall beside Silas. “Your father doesn’t take disobedience well.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Silas frowned. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Debatably neither of us are,” Fax pointed out, leaning forward to rub his tail halfheartedly. “It’s bigger down here than I expected.”

“Big house,” Silas said, standing. “Wait there. I’ll be right back.”

Fax gave a low hum of acknowledgement, and was indeed still right there when Silas returned with a couple towels from the bathroom. Fax perked up, and let Silas help him dry off until he had legs to stand on again. Once they were done, Silas started to go hang up the towels to dry, only for Fax to grab onto his arm. “Can... Do you have anything I could wear for now?” 

Silas blinked. Right. That. “Yeah. Uh,  yeah, just... here.” He pulled his shirt off. “I’ll get my dad to bring me something better soon. You sure you’re okay?”

“Considering how very human your father is, there are worse things than being tossed down the stairs, Silas.” Fax pulled the shirt on, tugging at the hem with a frown. He paused, and looked up at Silas. “Are _you_ okay?”

Silas considered that, and gave a low laugh. “Honestly? No, not really.”

Fax blinked, before his grey eyes softened. “We’ll figure this out,” he promised, patting Silas’ arm absently as he stood to head for the couch. “I don’t think this is the end of everything for us.”


	22. Chapter 22

It was in the little things. The little lies. Lev wasn’t stupid. No one had been around but Remiel. And no one could build a pool that quickly. But he let Remiel think he believed that the pool was magically finished when Remiel offered it as something to do. It meant he could fit in water without spilling over the side. He could stay under for a hell of a lot longer than Remiel, and he would no longer feel quite as exposed this way.

So he carefully folded his blanket on the chair and followed Remiel out to the pool in his backyard. It was a decent size, perhaps his length and a half long, and about as deep in the deepest parts. Lev sat down on the edge of the pool, and sighed softly as his tail slid through the water. He eased in fully, and sank down. 

After having been back in the ocean, the taste of chlorine stung. He hated it, but this was better than surfacing, at least for now. 

Above, he could see Remiel settling on a float. Waiting him out, Lev realized as he watched Remiel’s hand trail in the water. Lev coiled tighter on the bottom, but there was no demand; Remiel really was going to wait for him to come back up on his own. He wasn’t even worried about the mer below him. 

Any other mer Lev knew, save perhaps Fax, would not have hesitated to take the advantage of Remiel’s guard being down. With sharp teeth and superior strength in this form, it wouldn’t have taken much to kill Remiel. If he really wanted, he didn’t even have to spill blood. He could just drag Remiel down and wait for him to drown.

But Lev was quick to dismiss those thoughts. Already he felt sick to his stomach, just having it run through the back of his mind. Rather than dwell, he pushed off the bottom, and popped up near Remiel’s float.

“There you are,” Remiel murmured. Before Lev could react, Remiel ran his fingers through Lev’s hair, the action reminiscent of patting him on the head. Lev’s cheeks went hot, but he didn’t have time to pull away; Remiel had already let go.

Remiel had almost closed his eyes again when Lev blurted, “Can you swim?”

That got Remiel’s attention. “Why? Thinking of trying to drown me?”

“No. No!” Lev jerked back, eyes going wide. 

Remiel had the gall to laugh at him. “Relax. I know you.” A single finger tapped his nose. “A smart man would have already tried to get rid of Michael. Though, if you ever want to volunteer, I would not be opposed.” 

“I'm not going to kill anyone,” Lev protested, horrified. “I- why would you _say_ that?”

His distress was obvious enough that Remiel shifted on his float, a frown etched on his face. “Hey. Hey, no. I'm not asking you to. It was- It was a really bad joke.” Lev ducked away from Remiel’s reaching hand, skin crawling at the thought of letting Remiel touch him. 

When he wasn't called back he hauled himself out of the pool. It took a bit of stretching, but he snagged a towel off a nearby chair. Drying off was easier than ever, but Lev didn’t let himself think about that too much, and instead disappeared inside. By the time Remiel followed him he was perched on the counter, blanket wrapped firmly around his waist and a bag of grapes in his lap. He wouldn’t look at Remiel until the man tipped his chin up.

“Hey.  I’m sorry. Really.”

“It’s okay.” The words felt heavy and clunky in his mouth. He wasn’t used to lying, but what else was he supposed to say? It wasn’t okay, but it would have to be.

Remiel watched him for another long moment, before turning away. “You want anything to drink?”

Lev shook his head. He scooted forward so he could slide off the counter to put away the fruit he’d pulled out, only to find Remiel right in front of him again. Hyper aware of Remiel’s hands braced on either side of him, Lev held still. “I’ve got that,” Remiel said lightly, before snagging the grapes.    
Lev got down before Remiel could pin him to the counter again.

Remiel left him alone, though, as if he’d picked up on the anxiety he’d sparked. Lev was more than a little grateful for that, but he knew, distantly, that he really shouldn't, because there was no reason for Remiel to be making him uncomfortable in the first place. He curled up on the couch when Remiel suggested they watch a movie. Remiel’s choice in movies left much to be desired, but it kept the man happy, and left Lev to get lost in his own thoughts, so really, it could have been worse.


	23. Chapter 23

It took a full day for Michael to return to take Fax back to the pool. It turned out that he’d needed to drain the whole thing and refill it, though he’d failed to mention that when he first tried to remove Fax from the pool.

Silas wished he could say they spent that whole day figuring out a plan to get them out, but the truth of the matter was that Silas got distracted by anything and everything. Fax was patient. Maybe too patient. He never pushed Silas to focus, let Silas talk about whatever took his attention, no matter how small or ridiculous.

Still, they did narrow down several places Michael probably kept the keys, which was better than nothing, and then they ended up on the couch. Silas scrolled through his phone talking about anything and everything, and Fax listened. Eventually their conversation drifted to mers. It seemed Fax was more than willing to answer any and all questions Silas had.

“Our school is rather hodge podge,” Fax admitted. “Me, and my cousin, and his boyfriend stumbled across Lev’s grandmother. Or... she stumbled across us after Sorin... uh, pissed off an octopus.” Fax laughed, a quick, free sound. “She has a great granddaughter who lives on land. We visit her sometimes, but Sorin tends to get into fights with her. Um, there’s also Luci and his adopted kids. I think they’re adopted. Maybe.” 

Silas snorted. “Your, uh, school sounds busy.”

“It is.” Fax lifted his arms, arching his back in a stretch. “It’s home though. It’s family.” He got quiet after that. 

“Sorry,” Silas said quietly. When Fax shot him a confused look, Silas shrugged. “I’m sorry my shitty father is why you’re not able to go home. It’s not fair, to you or Lev, that you’re stuck like this.”

“Is he always like this?” Fax asked. Silas didn’t answer right away. “Your father?” Fax pressed.

“Not this bad,” Silas hedged. “Dads... he’s got issues. He’s just clingy. In the most standoffish way possible.” 

“He locked you in a basement,” Fax pointed out. “Not to be that person, but  that’s a bit more than clingy, Silas.”

“He thought I died.”

“He locked you in a basement.”

And really, what was he supposed to say to that? Silas shrugged, and when Fax’s grey gaze never wavered, he shrugged again. “Family’s complicated,” he finally said. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Fax didn’t reply, but his low, sympathetic croon did help. Somehow.

In the end Fax ended up asleep leaning against him, while Silas absently turned his phone over and over. He couldn’t quite settle enough to sleep, and he was too bored with his phone already to do anything, so he sat there, thoughts bouncing back and forth until his father came down the stairs. Michael didn’t seem pleased how Fax was half sprawled against Silas’ side.

“I would think after fucking one fish you wouldn’t be inclined to go after another.”

“Dad. What the _hell_.” Silas kept his voice low so he wouldn’t wake Fax. “What’s wrong with you? If you don’t want him near me, don’t put him down here, but, Christ, stop saying shit like that.”

“You’re telling me you didn’t-”

“Yeah, okay, whatever, I slept with Lev. It wasn’t a goddamn secret. I did not sleep with this mer. We just talked, and then he took a nap, because what else is there to do down here? Are you done being an asshat?”

“Silas.” Fax had woken, and Silas hadn’t even noticed. “Calm down.” His hand on Silas’ arm did more than his soft voice, but Silas did snap his mouth shut. 

“The pool is finished,” Michael said, gaze flat.

“Alright.” Fax stood, taking off the shirt that Silas had lent him. Silas thought he’d leave it at that, but no. Fax pushed the pants Michael had brought earlier off too, and folded both neatly so he could leave them on the coffee table. “Thanks for the clothes,” he said lightly, and headed up the stairs as if he didn’t feel Michael’s gaze on his back. 

Silas managed to hide his smile before Michael turned back to him. “So, ah, when’s dinner?”

Michael scoffed and followed the mer back upstairs.


End file.
